Despite what Valve plans or doesn’t plan to do regarding the next Half-Life, or how long they plan on developing it, there’s no denying that they’ve dropped the ball when it comes to communicating with the Half-Life community, and the gaming community at large. As a result, they may have inflicted a fatal injury upon the franchise and its community. There’s better ways to ensure a lengthy development time than acting like the franchise in question doesn’t exist, and occasionally annoying your fanbase by blatantly trolling them.

Whenever Half-Life 3 does come out, we’re all pretty sure it’s going to be monumental. I wouldn’t expect any less from a Half-Life game that’s been in development for nearly a decade. But I think we can all agree that Valve isn’t doing this right. At all. So what can we do? Can we even do anything at all? Well, there might be something. Let’s see what it is…

The lack of communication between Valve and the Half-Life community has been a frustrating experience. While continued support for current and future products is greatly appreciated, fans of the Half-Life series have waited years for a word on when the franchise will return.

So, instead of focusing efforts in a negative and disrespectful way, we have decided to gain Valve’s attention by delivering a basic message:

Your oldest and longest running fanbase would like someformofcommunication.
Waiting patiently for over four years is a daunting task, especially when E3 comes and goes without any beat of a Half-Life pulse, time and time again. Valve had stated that information was scheduled to be released towards the end of 2008, and we believe that if they have chosen, for whatever reason, to withhold this information, fans should at least be acknowledged in some way, regardless of developmental plans for the next Half-Life project. The entire trilogy of episodes was supposed to be completed and released by 2007, and if Valve have decided to do other things for the time being, that is fine; all that we ask for is a basic response on the matter, and to let fans know whether or not the Half-Life 2 story arc is scheduled to conclude at another point in time.

In addition: This message is in no way, shape or form attempting to rush the development of the Half-Life series; in fact, most members (who have signed via Steam Forums) agree that Valve should take the time needed to deliver a complete and polished product.

If you agree with the message, then head over to the thread and reply, acknowledging the fact that you support this initiative. Add “/signed”, or anything to that effect, so that Surf can add you to the supporter list. There are currently 1,348 signatures, with the movement’s current goal being 1,500 signatures. However, the initiative has gone beyond a mere Steam Forum thread. It has left its home and gone out into the Steam Community. Yes, the Half-Life fanbase’s Call for Communication now has its very own Steam Group. Currently at 3,841 members and growing, the group represents the pinnacle of this movement.

You might think this will ultimately do nothing, but let’s not forget about that which I mentioned before: E3 2009. In its aftermath, the infamous L4D2 Boycott was born. And as we remember all too well, the boycott proved to be fruitful, as the boycott’s leaders were invited to Valve HQ, to playtest L4D2. Following that, the boycott essentially dissolved almost entirely. Now, I’m obviously not expecting Surf and co. to get flown off to Bellevue to playtest HL3, but my point is that a movement of this kind in the Valve community have succeeded once before. Since that boycott and this call for communication are quite similar, I think we can expect this movement to send the message, and ultimately prove fruitful, in some form or another. As my friend Marcus put it: “well this certainly makes more sense than that crowbar bullshit”.

So, in conclusion: join the Steam Group, sign the thread, and let’s get something done. I’ve invited my whole friends list, and you’re encouraged to do so as well. Inform people about this – as many as you can.

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10 Comments

Marcus may say whatever he wants, but as I said on the forums I still think it’s incredibly sad that the crowbar thing got almost immediate response from at least a Valve employee while Surfrock’s polite and well thought initiative hasn’t been acknowledged at all, and it dates a long time ago. What do you think people will organize next? Donate to charity without even knowing if Valve will say anything after a certain threshold is reached? Or be vocal, whiny and spammy? It’s clear what works on the forums, let’s I hope it goes better with the Steam group.

Hey, I am the creator of the thread and Steam group. I don’t think Valve owes us anything; in addition, we are not trying to get the game revealed faster. We would simply liek Valve to communicate better with their fans now and in the future. Sorry if there was any confusion about our message.

What you’ve got to remember is this isn’t a demand for the Game to be released or announced, just simply a request for some sort of update as to exactly when something can be expected rather than the current “We’ve got nothing for you”

The thread and group is not, in any way, asking for information about the game, or for it to be announced. It is simply asking for them to let us know whether or not we will be waiting and for how long.

You’ve got to remember that EP3 was first publicly talked about in 2006, when EP1 came out. It was supposed to come out late 2007, but then Valve decided to do the Orange Box and release EP2 along with TF2 and Portal. Valve then said that they would talk about it again by the end of 2008, then never said anything, and still haven’t. It isn’t asking them to reveal it, give us info, or release it faster, it’s simply asking them to let us know if we’ll be waiting, rather then getting our hopes up each year, gaming event after gaming event, only to be disappointed by the year’s end.

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